Jason Kaneshiro: Hawaii’s Andre Ilagan stays humble despite his net results

When pandemic restrictions locked Andre Ilagan and his University of Hawaii teammates out of the on-campus tennis facility last year, he took them back to his roots.

It was at Kalakaua District Park where a preschool-aged Andre walked around with his racket in hand while his older brothers played.

When Andre’s turn came to start swinging, he spent just about every afternoon on the courts in the heart of Kalihi, putting in the relentless repetitions that would form the foundation of his game.

“Kalakaua is where I basically was born and raised,” Ilagan said. “Playing through my life over there, I just think it’s great for our guys to go there just to see what I was surrounded by — by family.”

Out of afterschool sessions that stretched into evening bloomed a high school career highlighted by two state singles championships — the only tennis titles in Farrington history. He carried his groundbreaking tendencies into college as the first UH player to earn the Big West Freshman of the Year award in 2019 and turned in another landmark performance in program history earlier this month.

Ilagan won three qualifying matches to become the fourth UH player to reach the main draw of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla., then earned the distinction as the first Warrior to advance in the bracket.

But why stop there?

By the time his week ended in the semifinals on Oct. 9, Ilagan had knocked off six nationally ranked players before falling to No. 28 August Holmgren of San Diego State.

“I was the underdog the entire tournament and not expecting much,” Ilagan said. “For me it was just having the opportunity to play in one of the biggest tournaments in college tennis and I just embraced that.”

Following a run of eight matches in six days, Ilagan watched this weekend’s HPU-UH Invitational to recover before the Warriors depart for the ITA Regionals, which start Friday in Malibu, Calif.

Ilagan’s showing in Tulsa likely heightened his profile on the national level, but staying humble was drilled into his mind-set as he pounded ball after ball on those daily trips to the court growing up.

Asked if the Kalakaua courts had become a second home over the years, Sergio Ilagan, Andre’s father and first coach, responded, “more than that, I think.”

Sergio wasn’t versed in coaching tennis when his older sons wanted to take up the sport. But he started off studying books by Nick Bollettieri and watched what techniques worked with Mark and Anthony. When another brother was due to arrive, the older siblings wanted to name him after Andre Agassi, the world No. 1 at the time.

While there may have been experiments with techniques or drills, one lesson emerged as a constant.

“There’s no magic in tennis, you have to work on it,” Sergio Ilagan said. “You have to be patient. You have to have that, if you don’t, you’re not going to be successful.”

Sergio said he didn’t have to push Andre to get out to the court nor did he hear complaints over the repetitive nature of practice.

“I told Andre, ‘it’s not easy,’ but I’ve seen he can take the hard work,” he said. “I’m so lucky with Andre because Andre never gets bored doing the same thing over and over.

“I just followed whatever he liked. I want him to enjoy what he does.”

Shots that now appear natural are the product of countless swings and his approach to improving his game contributed to the culture in Manoa since joining the UH program.

“He’s probably the most coachable athlete that I’ve ever coached,” UH coach Joel Kusnierz said. “He listens well, he learns quickly and he is daring and trusting enough to apply what he’s learning. That makes his progress so much faster.

“He’s been a leader for us, not only because of his results but by his attitude that he brings every day in practice and in matches. The way he competes has been highly inspiring for everyone.”

Ilagan said he’s worked on balancing intensity and composure on the court and Kusnierz credited his run at the ITA All-American to “how much smarter he’s become over the last few years.”

“We’ve always known he had the shots, but it’s another thing to put it together when it matters and he was able to execute,” said Kusnierz, who noted Ilagan’s ability to problem solve over the course of a match.

“It’s special too when you feel like you’re representing Hawaii. I think that added an extra piece of motivation for him.”

A senior finance major, Ilagan is savoring just his second full season with the Warriors. After his decorated freshman year, a promising 2020 season was cut short by the pandemic and 2021 was limited to Big West matches. He was named to the All-Big West first team in singles and doubles while helping UH reach the Big West tournament semifinals for the second time in program history.

Ilagan got a taste of playing with professionals when he was given a wild-card into the 2018 Hawaii Open during his freshman year at UH. He held his own for much of a 6-2, 6-3 loss to Christian Harrison at Blaisdell Arena, and with the experience gained since then he plans to pursue professional tennis after finishing college.

For now, he’ll just keep on working, whether on the courts in Manoa or Kalihi.

“Our big goal is obviously to win conference as a group,” he said. “For me I just want to be able to learn every match and just get better from there.”